Hundreds come together to create spectacular outdoor artwork in Loch Insh in celebration of creativity

The UK's biggest National Park was the chosen location for the latest Green Space Dark Skies project, by the outdoor art experts at Walk the Plank.

Article Source: UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK
Last Updated: 16 August 2022 13:17

Thursday 11th August saw hundreds of nature-lovers descend on Cairngorms National Park to participate in one of 20 mass gatherings happening across the UK for Green Space Dark Skies, part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, from April to September 2022. The remote Highland location, which is host to the first of the events taking place in Scotland, was chosen due to its unparalleled natural beauty which was a key focus of the celebrations.

The once-in-a-lifetime experience began at lunchtime and brought together hundreds of “Lumenators” to take part in talks, walks, workshops, and watersports before carrying handheld Geolights on kayaks, paddleboards and the shores of Loch Insh to create a large-scale artwork. Water Lumenators portrayed galaxies and shooting stars - a creative commentary on Scotland’s space exploration successes - while land Lumenators formed wave movements representing renewable energy. Although the exact location was kept secret from the public to protect the landscape, the magical moment - captured by Scottish Film Director Rupert Shanks - will soon be available to watch as a short film for free on the Green Space Dark Skies website.

The project aimed to go beyond celebrating nature, towards education about how we can come together to protect it. With this in mind, Lumenators were engaged in a full day of activities that nurtured community connections as well as connection to the landscape. Forest bathing and raft building provided participants with opportunities to make memories outdoors, and the local produce BBQ that followed gave guests a flavour of what the Cairngorms’ culinary artisans have to offer.

The schedule of activities was brought together by Green Space Dark Skies, produced by Walk the Plank in collaboration with a range of local organisations including RSPB, Visit Cairngorms and John Muir Trust. The programme was then delivered with help from Equal Adventure and Cairngorms National Park Rangers, among others, to ensure that the experience engaged groups who normally face physical or cultural barriers to accessing nature.

A workshop was held by award-winning writer, and Cairngorms National Park’s first Artist-in-Residence, Merryn Glover which paid homage to Scotland’s long history of language and storytelling. Exploring narratives from community groups All Nations Sports Arts Recreation (ASNAR) and the Colourful Heritage Project, Merryn facilitated a greater understanding about the significant - yet little known - contribution of the South Indian and Muslim soldiers who fought bravely alongside Scots in the Second World War.

Merryn says: “it’s been so fantastic to see some of the folk that had been in our workshops in June and who wrote a song with us from their experience of the loch and having these people come back and to sing that song in the spirit of celebration with Willie Campbell, everyone has a sense that this National Park belongs to them too, no matter where you come from – it’s been wonderful.”

Throughout the day at Ptarmigan Dome - dressed by local visual artist Claire MacDonald - British music collective Miro Shot immersed Lumenators in bespoke virtual-reality concerts which combined live music and virtual landscapes for performances which engaged all the senses. Participants were able to experience Scotland in a bold and dynamic new way, thanks to collaboration from coders, musicians, graphic designers, and filmmakers.

Outdoor lovers can still be part of Green Space Dark Skies by registering to be a Lumenator at the Ben Nevis event on Saturday 10 September. Ben Nevis will be the Scottish location in the programme's finale series which will be broadcast as part of a BBC Countryfile Special later this year. Sign up by yourself or as a group here to be part of this unique experience to create light-based artworks on Scotland's highest mountain.

Green Space Dark Skies goes beyond creative ambition, with sustainability goals guiding the projects including having a carbon-net-positive* impact on the 20 chosen outdoor spaces and leaving no trace.

*The Green Space Dark Skies team is measuring and balancing 100% of its unavoidable Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The team also acknowledges its Scope 3 emissions and the complexity associated with calculating these and is working hard to rise to the challenge with its stakeholders.

Siemens worked with Walk the Plank and Core Lighting to develop the groundbreaking technology used to create the low impact Geolights with built-in GPS allowing for the colour and intensity to be changed remotely.

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